Budapest is not that far from the Vatican

The Holy See was represented by Paul Richard Gallagher, known as the Vatican's foreign minister, and head of the Department of Relations with States at the Holy See's State Secretariat at the housewarming, which was organized in the presence of the Hungarian community in Rome. Archbishop Gallagher accompanied Pope Francis on his visit to Budapest and Slovakia.

Gallagher did not want to comment on the details of the papal trip, but told MTI that the visit of Pope Francis " turned out that Budapest is not that far " from the Vatican. He added that

after the International Eucharistic Congress and the visit of Pope Francis, more and more Hungarian pilgrims are expected to arrive in Rome.

The county bishop of Győr said that the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress (NEK) did not end anything, on the contrary, in his speech at Heroes' Square, Pope Francis " gave the Hungarian Church a kind of program " to continue the work.

The president of the MKPK called it a priority task to maintain and continue the enthusiasm with which crowds of people participated in the September 12 mass presented by Pope Francis, as well as in the procession held the night before.

„Something moved in many of them, which perhaps they did not even suspect”

- stated András Veres, emphasizing that the papal visit also captivated young people, who also visited NEK's other events in large numbers.

" We need to be able to address them: they usually miss Sunday Masses, but it would be good to find a way to their hearts, " declared Bishop Veres. He noted that the period of atheism in Hungary also " battered " religiosity and religious communities, but " fortunately, it did not last so long that people's search for God completely ceased ."

He saw

the visit of the NEK and Pope Francis " may give rise to many new shoots, and their development awaits us pastors and bishops ".

As the president of the MKPK, András Veres participated in the Rome meeting of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), at which the Hungarian bishop László Német, the chief pastor of the Diocese of Nagybecskerek in Vojvodina, was elected as one of the new vice-presidents of the institution.

András Veres said that among other things, the European bishops were looking for an answer to what Europe expects from the church, not only from the theological point of view, but also from a social, social and cultural point of view.

„We want to strengthen the Christian roots in Europe, but very often people have the feeling that European Christians live in a non-Christian society, so a very serious mission is needed to give the Christian roots a new impetus”

András Veres declared.

The president of the MKPK presented the festive thanksgiving mass on Saturday evening for the renovation and opening of the Szent István Ház, known as the Hungarian pilgrim house in Rome. After the blessing of the pilgrimage house, greetings were given by Cardinal Péter Erdő and Miklós Soltész, the State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office responsible for church and ethnic relations.

MKPK bought the Szent István House in May last year, the renovation of which was supported by the Hungarian government.

MTI / hirado.hu

Cover photo:
Pope Francis leaves Budapest at Liszt Ferenc Airport on September 12, 2021. From right, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén. The head of the Catholic Church came to the capital for the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress (NEK). MTI/Prime Ministership/Gergely Botár